New Super PAC ads compare Gaetz to Clinton

A new set of political attack ads liken Republican congressional frontrunner Matt Gaetz to Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee.

“You wouldn’t let Hillary get away with it, would you?” asks one of the ads. “So why let a Republican? Matt Gaetz’s crony capitalism is fueling his political career.” The ads also target Gaetz’s campaign contributions from the oil industry and his work to legalize medical marijuana in Florida.

The ads are funded by the “Citizen Super PAC,” a Texas-based group which claims to be “100% people powered.” The group’s website allows users to donate to specific “projects,” which the super PAC says will be executed if they reach a certain threshold of support, akin to crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter. It’s not clear how the projects originate.

Of the ten projects currently listed on the super PAC’s website, three relate to Gaetz. The other projects support the campaign of Justin Fareed, a Republican congressional candidate in California.

On August 20, the group filed a report with the Federal Election Commission detailing more than $40,000 it will spend on mailers to Northwest Florida voters opposing the campaigns of Gaetz and Clinton.

Established in 2014, Citizen Super PAC’s largest donors include Connecticut hedge fund manager George Fox, which gave $1 million to the group in 2015. “Citizens for Sound Government,” another dark money group, gave the super PAC $400,000 earlier this year.

None of the group’s largest donors are from Florida, though the group’s most recent reports show a $12,500 contribution from APR Energy LLC, a Jacksonville-based company, and a $1,500 contribution from Miami attorney Ed Patricoff. Both contributions were made on July 5.